Meet the Shuers
by Sahk
Summary: When Georgia is thrown into the world of Candy Shuriken, she isn't sure what to think and can only roll with the punches. Soon, however, the foundations of her very being will be shaken. SaiZet, SahkTsu, NaruSasu, some other side pairings. Delicious crack
1. Prologue: Georgia

She was once a cliché.

The kind of girl to spend lunch reading, to pretend she missed a greeting, to hunch forward in the hopes of being overlooked. Daily she idled in her room, alone, wandering, bored. She kept secrets about her family, her feelings and particularities, about laughing herself to sleep at night – every night.

She kept herself well groomed but carefully unattractive: It was better that way. Safer. Her skin was blotchy, yet smooth; her hair clean, soft, yet misshapen and frizzy.

She was a wallflower.

It was her choice.

Her choice not to change her own nature. Given the choice between outwardness and its side affects and what she had – between what she saw every day away from herself and what the knew – there was no choice. She would take what was easiest. That simple.

Her habits were solid, which was good. She needed them. She woke early, did what work was necessary for the day, read or roamed or otherwise entertained herself, and retired early as well. She kept a constant narration in her head, a running dialogue with her subconscious. She liked to think. She was turned completely inward and was pleased with herself, with her life.

But all of that was about to change.


	2. Chapter 1: Jau

The first strange thing was her alarm clock. When you think about it, if something has to be strange, the alarm clock isn't a strange thing to be the first strange thing. But that didn't make it any less strange.

Her alarm was not broken; in fact it sounded sharper and somehow more alive, more vibrant than ever before, the way it sounded after a battery change.

What was strange was the specific _noise_ it was making.

Instead of a normal, generic high-pitched whine, "EEEEE EEEEE EEEEE," her alarm was emitting a new, deeper sound, almost human:

"JAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUOOO"  
Georgia opened her eyes and rolled her head to the side.

"6:66," read the clock.

Her heartbeat sped and she thought: my clock is ringing fifty one minutes later than I set it to, I set it for fifteen minutes after six and it is ringing at sixty six minutes after.

Now, she was afraid. Georgia wasn't religious, but the fact that 666 was the devil's number didn't escape her. She didn't want to touch the possessed clock, but the noise was scaring her more and more when it didn't stop. It had held its initial note, then broken – then a gasping noise like inhalation. Then it restarted. "JAAAAAA –"

_It's set to radio,_ she rationalized, and started reaching for it, already thinking about buying a new one.

In reaching, her torso tilted, and she finally registered the weight on it. Her hands flew to near her hips, legs kicking and her eyes trying to focus on the small, triangular, black and white face inclined towards hers.

"Hey, whoa! Army, grab me, I'm rolling," said a voice from somewhere further down her midsection.

The rat flipped around and scuttled down her torso. Laughter was forced from her, but it wasn't joyous: it had a ring of fear to it. Her clock read the devil's number and there were vermin in her bed, _on her body_. She wanted to move, to fly from the bed and throw the rodents out the window, but she was paralyzed and could only watch as the rat rolled a fur ball until she could see its face, unfocused and way too close, but definitely the face of a mouse.

"She's certainly a smart one," said the mouse sarcastically.

"Nah, she's just panicked," said the rat from behind. "Isn't her fault."

"Wh – wha –" Georgia blubbered.

"Mmmhm, I'm sure she's a genius in there after all."  
"Pudge. Shh. We're being rude," Now the rat's head poked around the sphere or mouse and addressed her. "Jau, it's good to make your acquaintance. My name is Armageddon, just Armageddon, friends call me Army, and this is Pudge. Friends call him Pudge."

"Jau," said Pudge.

"I am dreaming," breathed Georgia.

"Aren't we all?" asked Pudge cheerfully.

"No. You are here, and judging by that nametag it's very important that you're here," said Armageddon sternly.

"What nametag?"

"The one on you. Oh, excuse me; you're probably very uncomfortable. Excuse us, just a moment." And Armageddon rolled Pudge off of her, onto the bed.

"Oof," said Pudge, hitting the sheets.

Georgia, shaking, rose, and ran hands over herself. She walked to the mirror hanging on her wall.

_Good God, I have an afro, _she thought immediately. Hands rose to it, ran lightly along the misshapen edges. It was crushed slightly by sleep, but she could tell by the tight curls of her hair that before long, it'd be fluffed up again and as round as Pudge. And it was pink.

Bright pink.

"Ahh… my God…" she was saying.

"You're not looking at the nametag," said Pudge, behind her and seeming worlds away.

"I…"

"She's more excitable than we thought," Armageddon supplied, and jumped down from the bed nimbly. He ran up to her heel, then climbed onto her foot like a throne.  
"Um –" started Georgia, who didn't really want a rat on her foot, but Armageddon interrupted.

"It says Sahk. You are Sahk. And Sahk will be the one to save us all."

Georgia realized three things: One was that she wasn't dreaming; the tiny pain of Armageddon's claws on her foot assured her of that. The second was that her alarm was still ringing. And the fourth was that the name on the nametag pinned to her chest in fact read something like "khaS" when viewed normally, for she could read it even in the mirror.


	3. Chapter 2: The Wonderful Cheezus of Shu

Georgia slung her lucky knit sweater around her waist, then changed her mind and pulled it up to put it on.

"You're not going to be wearing that for very long."

"What?"

"Legend tells…"

She frowned and hugged her middle, leaving the sweater on. Georgia may be letting these rodents kidnap her, but they wouldn't control her wardrobe.

She would rather not say that aloud, though. Georgia may have been stubborn, but she was also cautious and shy. And still slightly weirded out by talking rodents, even if after a good half hour of spazzing, the initial shock had worn off.

Once again looking in her wall mirror, Georgia patted at her afro. She was really ready to go, but she didn't want to speak up and ask what next (because, if all of this talk of prophecy was any indication, some occasion, and most likely something _big_, was coming up). Armageddon and Pudge seemed content to groom themselves, Pudge still rolling around the bed and Armageddon in a corner on the floor. So she groomed herself as well, noting that her new eyebrows were pink, but that her eyelashes had remained brown. She wondered if other hair on her was pink… Looking down at her notsofit body, Georgia considered checking, but she didn't want to undress in front of her vermin captors again. It had been bad enough changing out of her pajamas with them commenting. _A bit tsurupettan,_ Pudge had said, _but she'll do._ Georgia hadn't asked what that meant.

She suddenly was seeing herself again, and realized she had been looking right at her reflection without panicking. She was getting used to the 'fro.

Gradually, nonpanicked faded to bored. Georgia eventually was sitting, twice as idle as the rodents waiting on her, who never seemed to tire from cleaning. Pudge, in fact, was having a time of it, reaching around his rotund body with puny limbs.

Finally, Georgia resolved to ask. She cleared her throat, hoping to get off easy. No reaction. So she spoke.

"Uh, so… what now?"

"Finally you ask. Sahk, here you're going to have to assert yourself. You can't just lurk. You'll need to ask questions."

Armageddon scuttled gracefully towards her. (Rats are one of the few species that can scuttle with grace.)

Thoroughly scolded, Georgia blushed and turned away. Now she felt stupid.

"But don't worry!" Armageddon was saying, placing a tiny, pale paw on her foot. "This is the first of many lessons you'll be learning!"

"We're going to Cheezus," said Pudge. "We'll follow the graypink brick road to Cheezus, who will give us further direction. Come get me and we'll be off."

A reluctant Georgia was convinced to place Pudge on her head, where he seemed to skillfully bury himself in her afro. Armageddon climbed nimbly up Georgia's body and sat snug in a pocket of her sweater.

"And now we go," said Pudge from somewhere behind her ear.

She went to the door and opened it.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," she said.

"Good job expressing yourself," said Armageddon, "but no."

An expertly laid path of grayish pink brick winded smoothly over green rolling hills dotted with gumdrop trees – orange and purple and red and sparkling with sugar – and chocolate fountains. In the distance ragged mountains loomed and jarred the otherwise peaceful horizon. Comfortable clouds lazily softened the scene and shielded the land from the most harmful of the sun's rays.

"This is too much. I can't take this," said Georgia, starting to laugh. "I am _dreaming_."

"Want me to bite you?" asked Pudge from the nape of her neck. "It'll hurt, but not as much as if Armageddon were to do it."

"I would never," said a slightly hurt, very peaceful Armageddon.

"Mm… Wait," mused Georgia. "Are those really chocolate fountains?"

"Sure. I don't know how good the chocolate is though. Did you know rats shouldn't eat chocolate? Not for the same reason as dogs, but –"

"I'll do it. It's crazy… this is crazy; I'm talking to a rat! –"

"And a mouse," grumbled Pudge.

"…But I'll do it."

Suddenly inexplicably giddy, Armageddon sang: "We're off to go see Cheezus! The wonderful Cheezus of Shu!"

* * *

They walked across fields of lemon drop trees and grapes on the vine. ("gRapes," Pudge clarified, "specific species unique to Shu.") They hurried past fields of orange flowers bobbing in the wind, for roadside signs warned them that vagabond zombies lived there. She sampled a chocolate fountain and fount it delicious but too messy to waste time at.

Finally, as they were passing a forest where T-Rexes Pudge insisted were docile (and in fact, philanthropic) crashed through and towered over treetops, Armageddon said, "We're getting closer, I can feel it."  
"That's right," said Pudge. "Jesus Raptor is nearby, and he never strays too far from Cheezus or Master Chief."

Georgia remained silent, despite knowing she probably shouldn't. Questions posed on her lips, but she bit them back. She was still reluctant to bond.

Then the smell hit.

"God! What is that!"

She felt Pudge shifting. "Smells all right to me."

"Too much will give you indigestion. Trust me, sweet things like yogurt are much better than cheese."

That's what it was: cheese. _Cheese_, Georgia thought. _Cheezus_.

"We're almost there," she guessed.

"Yes."

* * *

Cheezus was sitting on a large, throne-shaped block of cheddar and facing them when they arrived. Upon spotting the bobbing pink 'fro approaching her, she rose and shouted, "Jau! Welcome!"

Georgia waited until she was near enough to speak normally and know Cheezus could understand to respond.  
"Hi."

"You mean Jau."

"…Jau."

"You are Sahk."

"I'm… Georg –"

"Not according to the nametag."

Georgia glanced down again. "Sahk" was written right side-up so Cheezus could read it this time.

She looked back up at Cheezus, and noticed she had a nametag pinned to her as well.

"Your nametag doesn't say Cheezus. It says Chaines."

"I know."

"And now it says Naruto."

"I know."

"…Okay."

An awkward pause.

"Okay fine, I'll talk. What's going on?"

"Nothing much, you?"

"Oh, I'm fine, just been kidnapped and – hey."

"What?"

"That's not what I meant."

"I know."

"…"

"…"

Georgia considered, since obviously that's what she was supposed to be doing. What did she mean? Finally, she thought of the first question.

"What is Shu?"

"Candy Shuriken is the second Naruto chatgroup of the FC."

"… Huh."

"We're a loving family, an internet club and a cult all rolled into one."

"And what do I have to do with Shu?"

Chaines just looked at her. "Why, you're Sahk."

"No, I'm Georgi – ow!"

Pudge had bee nibbling her ear. "You're Sahk. Accept it," he whispered.

She sighed. _I am Sahk,_ she thought. "Why does Shu need me?"

Again, Chaines seemed confused as to why she would even ask. "You're one of us. One of us, a part of the family. And one who will help us with our war."

Now she was getting somewhere. "War?"

"With the iAkatsuki."

"What's that?"

"The first Naruto chatgroup of the FC."

"And?"

Chaines sighed and turned away slightly. "And a dictatorship… corrupted by fucktardery. We were founded in an attempt to save the general public from the fucktards… but I'm afraid our attempt has failed." She clasped her hands together. "But you will help us change that."

* * *

"And cheese is all you have to eat?"

"Well, there are gRapes too. And shu. And naruto."

"Wait, what?"

"Shu are strawberries. Naruto is popcorn."

"Strawberries are the fruit of love," supplied Armageddon from her pocket.

"…Okay."

Someone heavily armored was approaching. Chaines immediately rose and turned. "Oh, hi Master Chief!"

Master Chief nodded.

"His nametag reads Jesus," Georgia whispered to Armageddon and Pudge.

"Now it reads Huck Finn," Pudge whispered back.

Cheezus stepped away from Georgia and interacted with Master Chief/Jesus for a while, then Master Chief was off and Chaines came and settled back down at their picnic.

"Jau," she said, smiling and meeting Georgia's eyes.

"Where are we going next?" Georgia asked Chaines.

"To meet your mother."

* * *

_By the way, Naruto is © Masashi Kishimoto  
The Wizard of Oz is © Lyman Frank Baum (assumably… I don't really know)  
__HALO and Master Chief are © …Microsoft or… something … not me  
Huck Finn is © Mark Twain (or in other words, mark twain is not me :c)  
Aaand "tsurupettan"… is just a phrase, so I'm guessing it isn't copyrighted. :3_


	4. Chapter 3: The Mad Storytelling

Georgia stared. "Parents? Excuse me?"

"Your parents in Shu, of course, are Zetsu and Sai. Really, that could be said for half of us. Zetsu likes children," answered Chaines with the same casualness she'd shown earlier, then added, "And Sai likes a happy Zetsu."

"But how is that possible when--"

"Majik," answered Pudge easily.

"Shu majiks," said Chaines.

"The power of love," Armageddon breathed, passionate.

Georgia sighed and pressed her lips together, asking no more and turning her head to watch picturesque scenery bobbing by. She was so tired of asking questions. She was more tired of never understanding the answers she received.

Suddenly, Armageddon was frantically wriggling from her pocket and falling free to the dusty graypink brick road beneath her feet.

"Ah! --" she cried and leaned over, following him with open palms, but she knew she couldn't catch him, and he hit the ground uncushioned, short limbs sprawling and his tail whipping the brick as he regained balance.

And then, just as relief was blooming, Armageddon was off like a shot.

"Army!" Pudge and Georgia shouted together, Pudge alert with his face sticking out of the front of Georgia's 'fro, Georgia already running, hesitant because she knew she could step on the rat.

Pudge noticed. "Go! He's faster than you!" he yelled, shrill, and Georgia ran heedless.

Chaines turned, saw the 'fro bobbing away, and took off following. "Oh dear..." she said to herself breathily before concentrating totally on not tripping.

Chasing a rat through grass was frustrating. It wasn't the easiest for Georgia to run on uneven, organic softness, but Armageddon darted quickly between blades and faded from her sight.

Then darkness spread in front of her and Armageddon was totally gone.

She screamed going into the hole, and wheeled her arms, but of course it was no good. The hole was abrupt and deep, and she'd been running fast, and she felt weightless and coldly afraid to her core.

Pudge squeaked loud and high during the first few seconds, then, panicked, said, "Sahk, save me, I'm falling -- up --"

Georgia, whose eyes and body had been clenched shut, unfurled and blinked. She looked up, surprised vertigo hadn't hit yet. A tunnel, and sunlight burning. And Pudge. She reached out a hand easily and grabbed him. She pulled down and felt gravity on her arm and only her arm. The rest of her was without a surface to cling to. She felt, emotionally in that moment, alone more than anything. She held the little ball of him, both of them shaking, close to her chest, her hand wanting to fly above her... and looked down.

Only darkness.

Some how, she wasn't comforted -- not in the least -- that she was going away from the light at the end of the tunnel.

* * *

Behind her, Chaines managed to stop at the lip of the hole, and stood gaping into it.

Chanting "oh dear, oh dear, oh dear!" Chaines jumped into the hole after her granddaughter.

* * *

She woke up abruptly and totally, in one moment. Her arms jerked and her eyes opened as she inhaled sharply. She was breathing in the sweet-salty rodent smell of Armageddon and lying curled on her side.

She snorted and pulled up and away, leaning her weight on an arm and pulling her legs more into her body. She was cold and damp and confused.

"Who -- Ah! Arma --!" The ending vowel echoed, lonely.

"Uhh... Jau..." said Armageddon meekly, running a few steps away from her, then turning back, sheepish. She could barely see him but for the blaze of white on his face.

"You!" She fell forward onto her other hand and grabbed him, rougher than she should have. But he didn't squeak, only winced and considered her fearfully. "What were you doing!" This time the echo was sharp and upset.

"I... I don't know... it was -- I smelled..."

"What! What could you smell that would make you run away and now I don't even know where we are -- or how we lived..."

Georgia was now distracted, looking around the cave they'd fallen into, but Armageddon (polite to a fault) answered her anyway. "Sweet potato..."

Georgia's neck snapped around to look at him. "Sweet potato?"

"I love sweet potato..." he breathed, then squirmed and scuttled off.

She sighed and realized Pudge wasn't in her hair.

"Pudge! Army, come ba --"

"Whuuuuut," said Pudge from somewhere to her left. She crawled clumsily to him.

"Pudge, are you okay?"

Pudge groaned. "Somehow... I think I am..."

"What happened?"

"We fell," said Chaines, and her echo emphasized.

"Chaines!"

Chaines was the only one standing, and Georgia could barely see her highlighted thighs and arms and eyes in the scant light.

"Where are we?" Georgia asked, standing and scooping Pudge up.

"Somewhere... down..."

Georgia hummed sadly as an answer and checked clumsily and unprofessionally over Pudge's tiny limbs for obvious breaks. Pudge didn't even bother protesting. "None of us are hurt..." Then, unbelieveibly, she giggled. "Pudge, I bet you bounced."

"Shut up," Pudge mumbled, tucking his little face into fur.

Georgia took that for a yes, and smiled. She set him into her afro, safe, then stumbled, more serious, towards Chaines.

The floor of the cave was hard and would have been slippery, wet, if it hadn't been for a loose, thin layer of gravel, chattering and shifting under their feet. Chaines began to take steps towards Georgia, and together they closed the distance. Their hands clasped and gripped in darkness.

Their faces turned, together and helpless, toward the sound of pattering and sliding of gravel from far away, but approaching. Georgia wanted to speak, but the question hung on her lips. She only listened intently to the unexpected noise, breathing with an open mouth. Her eyes blinked against the darkness, then opened wide as though searching.

Armageddon stopped, unseen, when he smelled their bodies within human earshot. He spoke before they could, and immediately their fear drained, and they sagged with relief.

"I found a way out," he said, breathless.

* * *

"This is the way out?"

"This is all I could find..."

"It may be all there is. Send Pudge in," said Chaines.

Georgia sat Pudge down and watched as he rolled into the crack, as his last of his little tail was consumed. Light beamed from the crack, pointing it out as an exit, so instead of watching him be shrouded in shadow, Georgia turned her eyes away from the bright light.

Then they waited.

After five minutes. Georgia was beginning to get concerned. But after a good seven, Pudge came bursting back through.

"They're letting us in!"

"Who --"

"Zetsu and Sai?"

"Yes!"

"Ah. I thought they'd do something weird like this," said Chaines sagely.

"Move!" cried Pudge, who had been rolling away from the crack.

So they ran in the dark, listening to the explosions behind them, to the scrape and grit of rock falling and sliding, and some time after the first ten heavy steps the darkness broke and Georgia's eyes pulled into squints.

She ran until Pudge stopped ahead of her, a tiny dark smudge, and squeaked a warning, "don't step on me!" Then she turned, with Chaines, and stood with her eyes closed to the light, panting.

Her lashes stuck as she chose to venture to look. Then the expected burning, and all she could see was the arched doorway, the silhouettes burned into light. One fat and short, one thin and plain.

Gradually her sight adjusted and she could see the debris the opening doors had pushed aside. She focused on that, finding it easier to let her eyes adjust while looking at the dark rock spilled across with light than to focus on the faces of her own "parents".

Then Chaines was running forward and movement in front of her drew her to look.

Through squinting eyes she could see a very ...calm-looking boy looking on as Chaines embraced the shorter, fatter man as well as she could. Then Chaines turned to Sai and hugged him as well, the fat man looking jollily on.

Georgia stepped forward, towards them, and saw Armageddon trotting ahead of her. Pudge squeaked shortly behind her, and she paused to pick him up.

And quietly, she walked until she could make out more details.

Then she reacted.

"Ohmigod, you're Santa."

Santa waddled closer, blocking out the sun. In darkness, Georgia could see better, and she leaned forward, trying to see Santa's nametag.

"Ohmigod!! You're also Zetsu?"

Santa hohoho'd, then giggled in a very un-Santa way that sounded funny in so deep a voice. "Of course! Hoho." And he scooped Georgia up into his jolly, heaving stomach.

It was very warm, and slightly moist. Georgia's arms were spread awkwardly in an attempt to embrace back, but frankly she was having trouble moving. After being cold for a while, the sweaty heat was both welcome and slightly suffocating. "Nuh," said Georgia, then gave up trying to breathe.

Her mother clung to her longer than she'd predicted though, and after choking and finally struggling to draw a breath, everything went black.

* * *

Waking up was slower this time. Her eyes opened glazed and unseeing, and blinked, sliding slowly and gathering data: blue calm sky, light and dark green foliage, a pale dab of skin tone, blurred green -- movement?

As her thought process rebooted, she watched the green face leaning and flashing excitedly. Towards her and away, from side to side, closer to the second, paler face. Then that face was gone.

Georgia's mouth opened and her eyes slid closed again. Her back arched and her first new thought was that this was her second time passing out, and that couldn't be good for her. Shu will be the end of me.

Then her ears started working again. First, a hum, but one with personality. There were no words, but it was obvious that a conversation was taking place, one with a desperately excited tenseness.

Her first noise was a very generic "uh". She heard the tone of voices rise, and the first word she heard was: lost.

"--because we made that--"

"I'm sorry, I didn't--"

"--the game if you haven't already--"

"--so glad, but I--"

"Wat," said Georgia.

"--re okay!"

And then someone embracing her. She reacted dimly, curling a hand up to meet their sqeezing arm.

Then, just as suddenly as her waking up last time, she snapped out of slowness. She blinked rapidly and moved her body forward and up. Shakily, after the body on her backed away, she rose to her feet and looked around.

A green boy was directly in front of her, observing, concerned. A pale man was standing farther away, apparently unconcerned.

"Cut your hair," said the pale man, not even looking in her direction.

"Wat!" said poor Georgia.

"CLEAN CUPS!" shouted the green man, spraying a little spittle onto Georgia's cheek and neck.

"Guys! Stop it! Stop being weird when she just woke up."

"Chaines!" Georgia identified. "Chaines, where are --"

"Jaauuuu, Sahk," said Pudge, and leaped lightly from Chaines' outstretched hand to Georgia's 'fro.

"And Armageddon?" she asked.

"You aren't mad at me?" moaned Armageddon, crawling from behind Chaines' neck.

"Well. No."

Armageddon skipped out to Chaines' shoulder and bruxed (by grinding his teeth together; it's a sign of contentment :3). Chaines picked him up carefully and handed him to Sahk, who cuddled him shortly before replacing him into her sweater's pocket.

"Touching," said the pale boy dryly, coming up to run uncharacteristically affectionate fingers over the green boy's arm. The green boy had tears in his eyes and was beaming.

"These are your parents," said Chaines.

"WAT," said Georgia for the third time. "I thought Santa was my mom!"

"Check my tag," said the green boy.

It read Santa.

Then it read Pudding.

Then it read Zetsu.

"Are you my mother?"

"Yes! And this is your father, Sai."

Sigh, read his nametag.

Then Kelly.

"Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad," Georgia said weakly.

Dad stared openly. Mom beamed harder. Chaines looked on quietly.

An awkward moment passed, torturing slowly. Georgia was totally at a loss for anything to say or do to break the spell of silence. She'd gotten used to barely catching up to what was going on, and now she was hopelessly lost with no hope of ever climbing of out of this hole she'd fallen into, so to speak.

"It's time for STORYTIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIME," Zetsu yelled at the top of his voice, suddenly and hoarsely. Georgia was startled, to say the least. She jumped at the sudden noise, and the cracks and wavers in her mother's voice made her shiver and bend into herself, disturbed. She wasn't wholly glad the silence had been broken.

She didn't have much time to reflect, however, because soon Sai was grabbing her and pulling her along, feet dragging and face twisted in confusion and unspoken protest. Pudge poked his head out to watch where they were going.

Chaines followed behind, quiet. Zetsu was skipping ahead of them. The party approached a huge rug laid right on the hillside they were on. How is it we're on a hill overlooking all of this land when we fell in a hole? Georgia wondered, but she didn't voice it.

She was plopped down on an edge of the rug. Zetsu was seated on -- or rather in -- a large and lumpy plush chair that consumed his smallish frame. Sai settled himself near Zetsu, and Chaines sat across from Georgia.

There was a lot of empty space.

A lot.

It was a very, very large rug.

Georgia was picking at bits of fabric and chewing on her lip. Silence fell once again. This is less exciting than I thought it would be, she thought. She didn't want to make any advances, to put herself out there and talk to her parents. She was afraid to ask how they were her parents, afraid to look stupid. Georgia felt like now she had something to lose.

But what, she wondered?

Zetsu spoke: "Once upon a time, I was singing my song and dancing my dance for the royal iAkatsuki court."

Georgia looked up, interested and surprised. Armageddon crawled from her pocket to her lap, and she wrapped her warm palms around him.

"You know. I was attaining my lulz. Like this:

Zetsu jumped up and started dancing and singing.

"I'm bouncin' on my toe

"Watch me super soak dat oh

"I'ma pass it to Arab

"And he's gon' crank it up fo' sho'"

Everyone nodded appreciatively at the performance as Zetsu climbed back into the oversized chair.

"So I was there, doing that, putting my heart into it, y'know. And Saso and Dei say -- well, what they did was, basically, they scold me and tell me to STFU."

Everyone groaned and rolled their eyes on cue.

"And I didn't want to, I was into it. So I kept going. So they stopped me ... by force, and they said, Off with his head! And those bastards kicked me out."

"How dreadfully savage!" Sai somehow managed to exclaim and deadpan at once.

Zetsu nodded knowingly.

Georgia was confused. She decided to actually speak up.

"Does that mean you were in iAka?"

Everyone looked at her, and she blushed. But she saw Chaines was nodding to her, and though her chin was lowered slightly, she kept her eyes to Zetsu as he spoke.

"Yes. I was new with them... then I knew them. They weren't simple, and I wasn't unhappy." Her mother's voice was somber but matter-of-fact, and much lower than it was before.

"And then. And then! Things didn't really change ... when they changed, you know? It was just iAka, then there was Candy Shuriken. Suddenly. And... well." Zetsu looked to Chaines, which drew Georgia to look at her as well. Chaines' lips were pursed and her brow drawn.

"O Chaines, I wanted to, don't make that face. Here's the point of the story, guys: I don't know if I miss them or if I regret, but I know one thing for sure. I have more fun now, and that's what I care about."

Georgia thought she should smile at this, but she wasn't entirely sure. She managed a small, good-natured tilting twitch of the mouth.

"That's my story." Zetsu stood up, then bowed low. Everyone applauded, including poor Georgia, who knew this had to do with her, knew it was of importance to all of them, but couldn't get much out of a story so vague.

For the third time, awkward silence descended.

Sai broke it this time. "I'm getting tired of this. I vote daughter Sahk tells us a story."

"Ah? I'm afraid I don't know any?" said Georgia, perfectly comfortable where she was.

"Then Pudge shall," said Chaines, who seemed to know what should happen and when, always.

"Okay, sure!" said Pudge from just above Sahk's eyebrows. She caught him as he leaped, pushing off from her forehead, and after shifting Armageddon to her shoulder, held him carefully as she stood and carried him up to the storytelling chair.

He sat right in the middle and didn't sink or roll. It was a good thing too, because he could be lost forever in there.

Georgia sat back down, and he started.

"Once upon a time, there was a little mouse. His name was ... Lump.

"He lived in a lab. He had lovely lab blocks to eat, and lovely girl mice to romance, and ... not much else."

Georgia held her chin in her hand and paid attention. Insight into the mind of Pudge?

"But he was an important mouse. For human kind. Because he grew human stem cells. A very, very special mouse. It made him fat, and unusual. The girl mice... didn't appreciate his roundness. They thought it meant he was abnormal, and not in a good way, not like I -- I mean, not like Lump had developed larger ears for better hearing. They didn't see that his fat was very smooth and attractive."

Georgia frowned. This was somewhat unexpected.

"Sooo Pudge ran away. It wasn't easy, but he did it, and his life outside wasn't easy at first, but he lived through it, and he made some friends. His friends took him places... magical, far away places he never would have believed existed. And Lump lived happily ever after with them."

"What a pretty story," said Zetsu kindly.

"Yeah," said Chaines.

"Who next?" said Georgia without thinking.

All eyes on her again.

Ocrap, she thought.

"You," said Chaines.

I knew it!

She was dragged to and shoved into the chair. Pudge jumped into her 'fro. Armageddon was still with her, and she ran sweaty hands over his soft, curly Rex fur.

"I ... hate public speaking..." she laughed nervously.

"It isn't public, it's Shu," said Sai.

"I don't have a story..."

"We all have stories," said Zetsu.

Georgia couldn't really argue with that, so took a breath and dived in.

"Once upon a time, in -- in what is probably a far away galaxy, I guess I don't know... There lived a girl. Her name was ... Her name was Bahg, but she didn't know it."

Georgia felt transparent, but this was what wanted to come out.

"Bahg -- who didn't know she was Bahg -- lived alone. She came as close to being a human island as you can, possibly. Everything was delivered to her doorstep, so she could avoid people. She didn't know why, but she hated talking to people. It made her nervous and it just felt pointless. And this is the weird part: talking to people was what made her feel lonely. Otherwise, when she was alone, she was fine."

She was looking down now and mumbling into her chest, but everyone could hear her fine. The chair had some effect.

"But then she was kidnapped by a few friendly pillagers." Armageddon stirred in her lap, tilting his dart of a face up. "And she was forced into things she never would have done normally, ever. And she found some things she never thought she'd have in her life. ...The end?"

A quiet moment, but this one was peaceful. She made eye contact with everyone sitting, in turn. And Georgia knew: She did have something to lose, but these were the people giving that thing to her, not taking it.

Sai went next, telling a short, serious story about a man named Sakon who has schizophrenia and made a fool of himself, then lost all of his friends and family. Chaines got up and told about her stepbrother, who, she said, they'd meet one day. Armageddon sweetly asked to be excused, and everyone allowed it.

Storytime was announced over.

And so Georgia -- Sahk -- was reunited with her parents, even if she wasn't yet entirely sure what to make of it, and they made ready for their next adventure.


	5. Chapter 4: Old Shu

Well, it took me a year, but here's the next chapter. :D You guys should be grateful for this – getting me to write romance period is something, even if it took me this long. (It's very Sahky romance though, lol, not much run to read. :v)  
Updates should be quicker after this. I hate to promise that, but parts of this chapter were really blocking my way, and now that they're through, I should do better. SHOULD.

* * *

"We're still picking up members, Sahk."

"I'm Geor—well. Kay."

"So we'll be going to meet a few more, then… we'll get to the next step later."

Georgia slid a warm hand out of Armageddon's pocket, resigned to the seemingly endless travel ahead of her. "Kay."

n o  
u

They arrived and met briefly with their new group mates.

First impressions were hard to form, meeting so many new people in so little time. Sasuke, to Georgia, was a lot like Sai 2.0. But Tsunade left a mark on her. Georgia tended to keep her eyes downward and her smile wide and false when meeting new people, especially those she was expected to befriend. But something in the blow of blond stands of hair across Tsunade's round face, something in her honest brown eyes or her relaxed yet composed posture kept Georgia glancing back in safe moments when there was a convenient distraction, kept her smile falling slack with wonder at the simple smirk of lips or the flirt of Tsunade's eyelashes, over and over again.

The afternoon had passed quickly, with much activity in little time. Most of that activity consisted of old friends reminiscing excitedly while Georgia sat, playing with Armageddon idly and listening, getting to know the Shuers slowly and hoping no one expected contributions from herself.

And all the while she found herself the most interested in what Tsunade said. It seemed Tsunade was the newest member present, but she was much more vocal than Georgia. She steered the conversation friendlily but surely. Georgia admired the ability, which seemed so foreign to her. It only added to her fascination.

The strange effect had only worsened with time, which worried her. She blamed it on atmosphere. After a light, only slightly awkward dinner, they'd set up "camp," which consisted of a fire built on a pile of rocks in the middle of a flowered clearing. Night had fallen gracefully, and they sat, oriented around the fire, looking all together from flashes of their eyes and cheeks to infinitely starred black sky and back. Who wouldn't be feeling a little romantic in so whimsical a scene?

But she was uncomfortable with whimsy, and when a topic of conversation she was interested in finally rolled around, she tuned in attentively.

"So, but – Tell us more. How did you guys meet? I've never heard these stories." Unfortunately for Georgia, it was Tsunade who spoke. Georgia's chin low, she shyly observed the question stated, then swung her whole head to Chaines, who answered.

"Sasuke and I? Or Zetsu and Sai?"  
_Chaines and Sasuke are a couple?_ Georgia shifted and sat up straighter.

"Either. Both."

"Well, Zets –"

"We met when Sai joined," Zetsu interrupted, eyes on Sai, who he was sitting hip to hip with.

Sai nodded. "While back."

"I'd had a short little fling with Zeek and it'd just ended, then Sai showed up and we just happened. Naturally." Sai continued to nod in agreement. Georgia registered the new name. Zeek.

Armageddon shuffled uncomfortably in her pocket.

"Yeah… And Sasuke and I met… a long time ago."

"Long before Shu," Sasuke affirmed.

"Really? Were you together then?" Georgia had noticed this before: often, Tsunade seemed to state her every thought. It worked out well: focus was far off of her, and she was entertained without having to even express interest. Her only problem was the temptation to stare.

"No," Chaines was answering. "Heh, but, once we joined –"

"We were pretty much a given?"  
"Yeah, it was just decided without us. But we didn't mind."

They laughed. Tsunade smiled softly with them, and her moist lips caught light from the fire. The light, in turn, caught Georgia's gaze, and held it.

n o  
u

The group chatted long into the night, but eventually they were all passing the same yawns around and decided to turn in. Of course, they lacked tents or any form of beds, so "turning in" consisted of finding a relatively clean, flat patch of land and curling into it, then turning silent and aware of companions to the sky.

Georgia lay awake long after she felt everyone else was asleep. Sai and Zetsu's giggling together had ceased, and she could hear at least three distinct, slowly regular breathing patterns. She was just noting her gladness that no one snored when a soft voice gently sliced her thoughts.

"Goodnight, Saku," said Tsunade, calm, quiet, sincere.

Georgia sat still for a long moment, considering feigning sleep. But Tsunade obviously knew she was awake, so she answered.

"Goodnight, Tsunade."

n o  
u

Once Georgia was safely asleep, Armageddon and Pudge slinked away from her for their usually nighttime rendezvous. (Rats are rather nocturnal; Pudge just didn't like being left without Army.)

"So what do you think? She going to … you know?"

"Everything else has gone as we expected so far. I think so."

Their tails held high and swung lightly in the starlight, expressing their cheerfulness, as they scampered here and there, entertaining themselves. Despite Georgia's own consternation, her guardians were beyond pleased. Everything was just as planned.

n o  
u

They rose with the sun.

"'Kay, guys. We have some work to do today."

Groans.

"And then travel."

More passionate groans and a few verbal protests.

"Guys, we have to."

"Yes," said Zetsu, stepping up beside Chaines.

"We'll gather some food and then we'll have a pretty decent length of travel."

"It's getting pretty lame, using this same device over and over. Next, we'll be attending goffic concerts and seeing Voldemort there two times a chapter."

"Yeah, yeah, I know, Sasuke. We're getting there. The author doesn't care about this crap, she's just getting through to the interesting bits."

"Whatever," everyone agreed, and they went about their chores.

n o  
u

Somehow, in the friendly but fast-paced action of Shu working together, Georgia and Tsunade ended up alone together, and at leisure, both awaiting further instructions. They rested, folding legs underneath them on a scratchy, leafy hillside dipping down into a creek. Running water, twisting pale blue green, trickled delicate and cheerfully and wildflowers bobbed their dainty heads in the wind all around them.

Armageddon and Pudge slipped away to chew up some flowers. They were truly alone together for the first time.

Conversation struggled and died. Then at once and with a girlish giggle:

"I've been meaning to ask you, Saku. Have you got a crush?"

Blushing, flustered and confused, Georgia reacted gracefully under the pressure: "I… don't know?"

"Oh. Because I was gonna help you out if you did. Nevermind~." A grinning glance Georgia caught and ripped away from, embarrassed to look at Tsunade's face.

Silence. Tsunade seemed nonplussed and content to sit with her thoughts, but Georgia was repressing the urge to hum in unease. Here was yet another thing she'd avoided in real life that Shu was shoving her into. Romance. Real romance, with interaction. She was more used to the one-sided kind.

After some time, they were called away and hurried to meet up with the rest of they group. They exchanged a chorus of "jau"s then were informed by a serious Zetsu that they'd be "making the hike down to the Old Shu ruins".

_Shu has ruins?_ Georgia was thinking as Chaines followed Zetsu's statement up: "They aren't too far, and it's a pleasant walk, but by foot it'll take a while." This produced a few increasingly familiar groans. "Guys, we'll be there in no time. And we brought some chairs (eggs) for the road."

Little bags of prepared chairs were handed out, and they set off, once again down the familiar graypink brick road. Georgia purposefully drifted away from Tsunade, hovering near Sai and Sasuke, conversing while Zetsu and Chaines pointed and gestured wildly at the scenery around them and talked in loud, official voices. However, it seemed that Tsunade gravitated right back, towards her. An uneasy fist was gripping her stomach. Something was happening that she wasn't in control of.

_…Wait,_ Georgia thought. _I'm not used to that by now?_

She fell back on that old wallflower standby: staring at her feet, and she ate her chair absentmindedly. She listened to Kiba and Sasuke's conversation.

"—ot much."

"Wasn't hungry anyway, so it's okay…"

"I guess. What time is it, though?"

"It's fairly late. But still morning."

"Why are you avoiding me?"

Georgia promptly tripped on her own foot and fell facedown.

_This is going to be the third time—_

Someone caught her by the elbow, pulling her arm sharp and painfully.

She regained shaky balance and straightened, moving away slightly from all other bodies around her, blushing red because everyone had stopped and was looking at her, and, shyly, cautiously, she flashed her eyes to her savior.

Tsunade, all warm brown and cool green and soft yellow, studied her, calm but concerned.

Georgia drew her head further into her neck and started walking again, rubbing her injured arm.

After a moment of pause, Shu joined her.

n o  
u

Their hips bumped together occasionally, even their thin hips. That was how close they walked. Zetsu's arm, very green this late morning, was around Sai's waist and Sai's arm around Zetsu's shoulder. It was so casual, this Shu-flavored PDA. So easy: how did they keep their balance?

She was still so embarrassed, but it was starting to slip backwards from the front of her mind, slip under. She occupied herself looking out across the hills of Shu, at the mountains the small group trudged toward slowly, and her parents in front of her, glued together now that Chaines' mini-meeting was concluded. She thought repeatedly, with her eyes tracing their arms and fingers, _this is okay._

And this time, she let Tsunade gravitate towards her.

And when Tsunade fell in step with her, when Tsunade's wider hips bumped her own – she let it happen.

n o  
u

They weren't walking long, but by the time they were clamoring jauntily down a long slope with a promising clearing and important-looking hills in the visible distance, Georgia was panting. She had moved slightly away from Tsunade, but it was a natural distance to be. They'd become comfortable.

Their hands brushed once or twice, and Georgia's only reaction was a slight tightening in her chest. She didn't move away.

But when it happened again and Tsunade seized two of her fingers briefly, squeezed, and released, Georgia never looked up to meet Tsunade's expectant gaze.

Armageddon and Pudge exchanged concerned glances that Georgia never saw.

n o  
u

Chaines turned and walked backward, arms spread wide as she smiled and addressed Shu.

"Welcome to the ruins of Candy Shuriken." The ruins which were actually a hillside undistinguished but for the crooked tree set on the curve on it. They gathered around it.

"Whoopee, we're here," Kiba moaned. Sasuke swung over an arm to pat him on the back.

"They're not really ruins," said Sai. Georgia couldn't tell if he was stating an observation or informing the group.

"But this is where Lee and Aki formed Shu, right here by the tree. I was here, Zets was here."

"Aki and Lee have both disappeared since," continued Zetsu, stepping closer to Chaines. "Lee just after Shu was formed, Aki only recently."

This generated a chorus of reactions. "What!" "Aki's gone?"

"Yes. We know. That's why we're here."

Zetsu's body swung and he gestured widely at the mountains much closer to them now. Close enough to block out a good chunk of sky, and Georgia realized she missed even that mundane part.

"iAka territory," Zetsu said lowly.

"Oh –" Kiba started darkly. Georgia was suddenly very aware of the tenseness that had fallen over the group.

"We're going to fight."

More explosive reactions. "No!" "But how –"

"We don't know. That's another part of why we're here. We're waiting for our eighth member. Zeek may have more ideas."

Eight, Georgia realized, included herself. And she was acutely aware of her involvement and of the fact that she felt spreading dread in her chest as much as any of the others.

n o  
u

Alone, again, with Tsunade. _Again._ Something was shoving them together, she was sure… But she didn't mind. At the moment, at least, she was comfortable. She sat with all of her body parts and possessions near her, her rodent guardians warm and quiet and nestled close; and Tsunade just as quiet, just as idle. She felt good and self-contained. Independent but accompanied. She pronounced herself done fretting and allowed her mind to wander.

"Saku."

Tsu's voice was a gentle awakening from her thoughts. She turned to Tsunade, saw the focused, hopeful look on her face, and her stomach flipped. The peacefulness she'd felt departed with the same swiftness with which it had arrived.

"Hm?" she managed.

"I've been thinking."

Oh, dear. "Hm?"

"…Thinking… and you know it seems like everyone's married? Well, they're not, or I don't think Zeek is, but it seems like…"

"Mm… Yeah?" Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. Her heart started pumping, hard, desperate, beating against her ribs.

"I've been thinking, and if I were to – um, take a spouse, you know…"

"Ohhh dear," she murmured.

"I think it'd be you."

Blood pounded her face from behind and heat radiated from her. She instinctively bent over fractionally, eyes fluttered down. Her hands gripped her knees, tense and sweating.

"Um," she said, and then felt it spilling over – her true thoughts on the subject. "Um, but, you can't?"

"… What? Why not? Oh, are you already…? Oh, I'm so embarrase – "

Pudge dropped calmly from her hair to her shoulder.

"No, I mean, you can't because… I'm… wrong."

He scuttled up her neck, swiftly, and hunched around her ear, breathing quickly but not speaking yet.

"… What? Saku, I don't know what you mean."

"You're too – I'm just so – _why_?"

"Sahk, you don't need to know why."

Armageddon stirred and spoke in that low voice of his, so that she could hear him but no other. "It's right. Say yes."

"What do you mean?" Tsunade was asking, confused and seemingly on the verge of tears.

Seeing Tsunade like that – something in Georgia broke a little. "No, God, Tsu, I don't mean that there's anything wrong with it, or… I just mean that I'm too … You're so … I'm not _good_ enough, okay?" And with that, she was crying.

_I can only cry out of self-pity_, she scolded herself, feeling low and the same as she had ever felt. _Nothing has really changed…_

Then she was attacked. Pudge sunk teeth into her ear, as Armageddon hissed angrily, "Sahk, pull it together! Nothing is wrong!"

And in the same moment Tsunade had come to her. Those freckled and milky arms across her shoulders and back, and her face gently guided to Tsunade's shoulder. Georgia tilted her head to avoid a collision of her 'fro and Tsu's face.

Her eyes blinked, slowly and without her knowledge, tears drying quickly. She shook her head gently, and Pudge crawled back up into her 'fro, satisfied.

"You know what? Okay," she said, calm, gentle.

Tsunade giggled and hugged her tighter. "All right!"


	6. Interlude 1: A Marriage Romp

They held the wedding at the Ruins. They spoke of the history of Shu amid vows and congratulations, and made a complete, sincere Shu-infused ritual out of it, so that to Georgia it felt like an acceptance ceremony besides being a wedding. She felt ridiculous in her dress (grotesquely pink and frilly – it had Hello Kitty on it!), and had even tied her blue sweater around her waist, a token of luck and comfort – but seeing Tsunade in her simple, white dress, seeing her smiling face, her blushing cheeks and manicured hands and hair, seeing her lovely bride, made her feel both distracted from discomforts and okay, deeply okay with what was happening to her.

Army and Pudge were given tiny top hats for the occasion, but, feeling slightly insulted, they were sure to chew them to oblivion before discarding them.

Pudge served for a comical flower-mouse – rolling down the isle with a long chain of flowers wrapped around him so that it unraveled as he went – because he couldn't hold the rings in his tiny mouth. That job fell to Armageddon, who ran the rings onto his tail and proudly marched up the aisle, waving his backside so the rings caught the light but never touched the ground.

Sasuke was the preacher. Poised, serious but obviously happy for them, he delivered the sermon in a deep, resonating tone and with sweeping gestures that made her feel the importance of this action and ultimately the rightness. Her mother sobbed and wheezed, hoarse and full of emotion, into Sai's shoulder the whole time, while Chaines sat nearby, serene. Those three made up the audience.

"And on this fateful day…"

"HONK"

"we are gathered here, all together, in the divine, dynamically – "

"HONKHONK"

"… epic phail… spirit of Shu. And we are ple – "  
"PFFFFFFFFFFF"

"GOD DEMN IT ZETSU CALM DOWN T_________T"

Despite Zetsu's hysterics, Sasuke finally worked his way to the important part.

"Do you, Sahk Goulash Shucon, take Tsuna – oh, sorry, I misread. Do you, Sahk, have cam?"

"I do. Yase."

"'K! See you on funpeeps!"

"K!!!!!"

They kissed to well-meaning cheers that made Georgia blush dark and deep. Holding hands, the two flounced away into a sunset (actually behind a tree) where they thoroughly molested one another.

And Georgia was happy. _I am _married_, I can do what I want, _she told herself, and was finally convinced.

After an amount of Shu's staple nonsensical merrymaking, they found themselves sitting, limbs akimbo, in an exhausted circle, discussing which wedding-related traditions they should try out and which they should ignore.

"We don't have a bouquet… What can we throw?"  
"We don't have anyone who isn't married, either, you know…"

Inspiration struck. "I'll throw my sweater," said Georgia, untangling it from skeins of lace wrapped around her as well. She shut her eyes, arched her back a little and let a joyful underhanded throw take all of her attention. Smiling, she opened her eyes again to find the sweater laying flat on the ground several yards away.

The group giggled. "Well that went well!"

Pudge wriggled out from under the sweater, aggravated. A mortified Armageddon crawled out after him and scuttled to a corner to hide.

Naturally a huge gigglefit burst out at the scandal, Zetsu even throwing in some "hogiggles" as homage to his Santa-esque roots.

The final guest, Zeek, arrived as the party was finally winding down for good. Zeek drove in on waves of tears and angry wails, old friends becoming ex-friends. She seemed to enjoy cutting ties – she was composed and bemused. She drifted away from an angry swarm and came among Shu easily. She was accepted into tired but happy, celebrating and ultimately very open arms.

"Jau!" Georgia said to her quietly and privately, but with an honest smile on her face. It hadn't occurred to her that under usual circumstances, Zeek would intimidate her. Zeek's only response was a giggle. Georgia giggled back.

It was the beginning of the worse friendship Georgia would ever forge.


	7. Chapter 5: The Closest Encounter

Zeek was confident, self-satisfied, witty and intimidating. Every word she spoke seemed more important than the last, every quotation homage to some great man or woman, every insult incredible, unredeemable slander. Yet, when she loved she appeared to love fiercely – she clung and petted, and her praise was lent extra weight by its rarity.

"I love your hair," she would croon, nudging Tsunade's possessive hand from

Georgia's 'fro in order to stroke it herself. Assertively she plunged her hand inside – only to recoil immediately.

"But not your pets," she sneered, nose wrinkled in pain and disgust. With a haughty flip of her smooth, dark hair over her shoulder, she stormed away, nursing a miniscule bite wound

"Pudge! Hey!"

"Actually, that one wasn't me."

"Wat?"

Armageddon rained onto Georgia's shoulder, tail curling around her neck for balance, each foot falling subsequently. "I had an impulse."

"To bite Zeek? But Zeek is –"

Georgia observed Zeek, interacting with Sasuke, seemingly operating on a separate plane – one full of intrigue and passion.

"—so cool…"

"I have a feeling. I don't trust her."

Chaines, overhearing, raised an eyebrow at this. Zetsu remained motionless, avoiding eye contact, but spoke.

"Zeek is different." There was no negative or ominous tone here; it was spoken as a fact.

"I disagree with you guys. Zeek is amazing," Georgia gushed, then fought back embarrassment. She had always longed to be friends with someone larger-than-life, the type who usually scared the crap out of her – scared her into the silence that she'd lived all her life in before Shu. She wanted to believe that Shu had opened this door for her, too. Not only could she speak among silly, lovable friends – She could speak among the elite, the debaters, important, interesting people. And she could finally earn their love.

Zeek returned to her, shoved all others aside. Cupped Georgia's face in her rough, well shaped hands and implored her, "Come with me. Talk with me."

Her face bright, Georgia followed, taken literally by the hand. She fed hungrily on Zeek's anecdotes, all the cute little stories Zeek only called cute because they weren't - they were monumental, meaningful and profound. In fact, she fed on Zeek's every word and movement.

In a moment of comfortable, thoughtful silence just after a laughing fit, the lightness cleared from Zeek's cheeks and eyes and with gravity, she told

Georgia, "You're great. I like you," and Georgia's heart melted.

Even with Tsunade, Georgia had never been so smitten.

no

u

It would appear that Georgia wasn't the only one smitten with Zeek. It would also appear that when Zeek was welcomed into Shu with open arms, she was also welcomed with open legs. All of this if the hogiggling-ing emerging from behind a bush was any indication.

Georgia, Tsunade, Sasuke and Chaines were nearby, frozen on the spot. The event in itself wasn't so unusual. It was just that two people were laughing behind a bush and Sai never giggled.

"Are they doing what I think they are?" Armageddon finally asked. Georgia breathed a sigh of relief; for once, she didn't have to be the one asking the stupid, obvious question.

"I think so…" Chaines admitted, seeming to disbelieve herself even as she spoke.

Sasuke harrumphed and left, angered. Chaines blushed, then indicated silently to Georgia they should leave. Tsunade followed, concerned.

Georgia wanted to believe both Zetsu and Zeek were better than that, but the

evidence was right there. How could Zetsu do this to Sai? Where was Sai?

no

u

And then something the fuck else happens, I don't even know. So basically, someone the hell confronts Zeek & Zeek gets pissed. Yeah. I don't give a fuck about figuring out the minute details of this plot right now okay. Did any of you even MEET Zeek?

So in the next part she's gonna be pissed okay.

n o

u

"God, I hate Shu."

Zeek's eyes narrowed, her lip curling.

"Man – Fuck the Shu! Take this!"

And Zeek slapped Chaines across the face.

Georgia gasped, one hand flying to her own face and the other reaching out for

Chaines dramatically. She felt sick, suddenly and completely.

Sai's eyes were narrowed. "Oh, shit," he said, sarcastic, "you're hardcore."

"Calm down, man," Chaines said quietly, palm over her smarting cheek, eyes sad but intense.

Zeek leaned forward and spit into Chaines' face: "Fuck you and your Shu."

Then she ran a distance away from the grouped Shuers, and turned. She shouted

back: "I am a fucktard!" and disappeared in a burst of black smoke.

no

u

As usual, Georgia's reactions were typical and predictable. First, she denied it, believed it to be the very kind of joke Zeek would pull: devastatingly cruel, and once revealed, devastatingly funny. She even tried to laugh about it. When she realized it was true that Zeek had played her, she only felt embarrassed.

"I'm so gullible," she bemoaned to Pudge and Armageddon, who coddled and nibbled her into silence.

Tsunade came to her then, as she always did, comforting her in ways Pudge and Army couldn't. The others gathered and tried, but she sunk under the level of their conversation, into a kind of shame-induced emotional coma. She lost track of her body, her thoughts and feelings. The game Zeek played took a huge toll on her.

But when she woke up, Shu was still there. They moved on.


	8. Chapter 6: Okkusenman

_The scenery I've overlooked was  
__110 Million! 110 Million!  
__The seasons that have passed were graffiti  
__The courage you gave me was  
__110 Million! 110 Million!  
__The seasons that have passed were dramatic._

n o

u

"There's something you all need to know."

Interested eyes all around enticed Zetsu to go on.

"I… can't say this. Wait. Okay, you all know how much I love you, right?"

Many nods, and Chaines spoke. "Yes," with apprehension swelling her voice.

"Oh. Oh, I can't beat around the bush. I'm doing this, but I'm doing it for Shu. All of Shu, the good of Shu – I have to do this. I'm leaving."

No one reacted. No one moved.

Tension, thicker now and tinged with shock, paralyzing. Zetsu crushed into himself, gestured widely and cried: "Stop – you all – please, yell at me, something -"

"You can't," stated Georgia, her voice low and calm enough to overpower Zetsu's hysterics effectively.

"Why not?" asked Sai sadly, in a strained tone. "Zetsu is – you can do anything you like. You always have."

Zetsu's heart broke – visibly (Zetsu had always worn his heart on his sleeve) – at the hopelessness and hurt in Sai's voice. He opened his mouth to protest, but Georgia spouted first:

"No, he can't! That's not the way Shu works! We love one another. We can't leave this!"

Zetsu came to Georgia then. Placed hands on her shoulders, knelt and kissed her on the forehead, softly, motherly. "You're learned so much. Bésame mucho," Zetsu whispered.

Rising, he turned to other Shuers, every one of them misty-eyed and abnormally quiet, and embraced them gently, as though trying not to disturb them, not to ruffle their clothing at all. All the while, he spoke in a low voice.

"I've received word. I'll be needed in – another world, another plane, and it's strange, I know. I know, but I also know it's true. I'm not being lied to. And I love you all so – I can't have both. I want to give you all – everything I have, but someone else needs me truly."

And he was moving out and away from the stupefied circle of Shuers.

"Goodbye," he said. "I love you." And he turned and walked away into lavender mist.

n o

u

For the rest of the afternoon, the other Shuers acted strangely tender around Georgia. Tsunade, especially, seemed distanced and vague. Troubled. And it wasn't just that – they were communicating behind her back. Gesturing desperately and whispering, hunched together. Sending her furtive glances. Checking on her activities frequently…

Georgia finally got fed up.

"Good Lord you guys, what… what is wrong? Is this about Zetsu? Because I know I was upset but you don't need to –"

"Well – " started Chaines.

"Don't!" erupted Tsunade.

"Well, it is and it isn't."

Sasuke sighed. "We didn't want to tell you… yet. But maybe we need to."

"Sasu, don't get ahead of yourself," warned Sai.

"Mhm," agreed Chaines subtly before Tsunade burst in.

"First off, we didn't know about Zetsu any more than you did."

Chaines, slowly and deeply: "But I know she wasn't lying. I know Zetsu… it really was for the best and she really won't be back. And I don't know just why but I'll tell you this: it wasn't iAka, even if it looks like it. She won't go back to them. She wouldn't betray us."

"You were right, Sakulove. Shu _is_ love, really. And Zetsu was …a true Shuer. She wouldn't leave for any other reason."

"Nor would we," said Sasuke sadly.

Silence as the other waited for Georgia to process.

"…Oh. God. You're leaving? How many of you?"

Another, shorter, hesitant silence.

"All of us."

n o

u

Tsunade remained attached Georgia's side as the group prepared to leave. "Saku, you'll forgive me, right? I'll miss you," she'd spurt suddenly, and kisses would rain across Georgia's face and neck.

"Of course, of course," Georgia would murmur, running hands over Tsunade's shoulder and Armageddon in her pocket, processing again the reasons why she was being left alone.

The others were needed, just as Zetsu was. They weren't all needed in the same place or at the same time, but they had been informed when they were alone together. They hadn't told her when Zetsu did for two reasons: For one, they hadn't known Zetsu would be leaving and were just as shocked as Georgia had been, and also they had all felt the need to group together and discuss options after hearing Zetsu's news. Zetsu was only one person, but her absence changed everything.

"The way I see it, we're leaving, just not as permanently as Zetsu is – did. We're still Shuers, and we'll fight for Shu when we can, we just can't help you anymore. It isn't the end, either. It's up to you to save Shu, Sahk."

"And you will save us," Pudge and Armageddon crooned to her. "You can. All is as it should be."

She pulled them out, her vermin guides, just as her friends turned their backs to her for the last time, as she watched them reach out to exchange comforting touches, even walking away. She held her only companions left to her face and cried into sweet, wiry fur as Tsunade's scent faded forever away from her. Armageddon's greypink dandruff dusted the tear tracks running down her face.

She curled up with Army and Pudge under the deep shadows of a tall tree. Curled up into a tight ball and cried herself to a sad but peaceful sleep. Slept even as her pets scampered about her body, fretting and chewing on her ragged form – as they tried to fix her up as best as they could with their short tiny limbs and competent teeth.

Slept dreamless and loveless even as her most devoted friends loved her desperately.


End file.
